NEW: Early RI Premiere of Downton Abbey Season 3 Jan. 3

Downton Abbey fanatics, you can get a sneak peek at the long-awaited Season 3 premiere a full two weeks ahead of the nation, and it's right here in Cranston, Rhode Island.

While the premiere of the wildly popular series on Masterpiece will air on Friday, January 18 at 9 p.m. on Rhode Island PBS, a free public screening of the first hour of the new season will be held at the Park Theatre in Cranston on Thursday, January 3. The event is a collaboration between RI PBS and the Park Theatre.

350 tickets still available

David W. Piccerelli, president and CEO of Rhode Island PBS announced the pre-screening party is sold out, but that 350 tickets are available for the free public screening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets must be picked up at the Park Theatre box office in advance of the January 3 show.

"We – as much as the fans – are eagerly awaiting the new season of Downton Abbey," said Piccerelli. "The response to the series has been amazing."

Downton Abbey, Season 3 is set in the early 1920s – around the same time The Park Theatre opened in Cranston in 1924. "The Park Theatre is a beautiful and most appropriate location to celebrate this new season of Downton Abbey," Piccerelli said.

"We are happy and honored to work with Rhode Island PBS to bring this Downton Abbey preview to the 'big screen,'" said Yusuf Gandhi, director of programming at the Park Theatre.

Guests are asked to bring non-perishable food items or canned goods on the night of the show, in a post-holiday food drive to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

"The holidays are a time of year when we remember the needs of our neighbors and respond generously," said Gandhi. "Unfortunately, hunger does not come and go with the holiday decorations - there are local families facing hunger and food insecurity all year long."

Collection boxes for food donations will be located in the Park Theatre lobby.

Downton Abbey

Written and created by Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey won an impressive six Primetime Emmy® Awards and a Golden Globe® in its first season. Recent honors for Season 2 include 16 Primetime Emmy® nominations, multi-category nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards and from the Television Critics Association. Viewers were no less passionate, with 17.1 million tuning in across the seven episodes, making Downton Abbey, Season 2 the most-watched Masterpiece series on record.

Downton Abbey, Season 3 is a Carnival/Masterpiece Co-production, in association with NBCUniversal. It is written and created by Julian Fellowes. Gareth Neame and Julian Fellowes are Executive Producers. The Producer is Liz Trubridge. The first two episodes are directed by Brian Percival, who won an Emmy® Award for his direction of season one. Other episodes are directed by Andy Goddard, Jeremy Webb, and David Evans.

The Park Theatre is located at 848 Park Avenue, Cranston, RI 02910. Free parking is available for all shows.